Return of Title IV Funds and Refund Policies

If you receive financial aid and subsequently do not enroll in the University or enroll and then withdraw, you may be required to return financial aid funds received.

If you have questions about Return to Title IV Funds at UC Davis, please contact your specific Financial Aid Office.

What is Return of Title IV Funds?

Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended in 1998, (Title IV, and HEA program) establishes general rules that apply to federal student financial assistance programs. For purposes of Return of Title IV Funds, these programs include:

What Return of Title IV Funds Means to Financial Aid Recipients

This publication provides information about the UC Davis Return of Title IV Funds (Return) policies that apply to any student who cancels enrollment, withdraws, is dismissed, or participates in the Planned Educational Leave Program (PELP). These policies apply to students that discontinue enrollment in all classes, on or after the first day of the term. When you withdraw, two separate calculations must take place:

A refund of fees must be calculated by your respective Registrar's office.

The Financial Aid and Scholarships Office must calculate the Return.

If you cancel your registration prior to the first day of classes, this policy will not apply to you. Also, if you drop some but not all of your classes, these policies will not apply; however, you should notify the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office because your continued eligibility may be affected. To cancel, withdraw or PELP, contact your respective Registrar’s Office.

We first determine if you have completed more than 60 percent of your scheduled enrollment for the term.

You earn all of your financial aid when you have participated in more than 60 percent of your scheduled enrollment for the term. The Return of Title IV funds calculation counts the number of days from the first day of class until the last date you were enrolled and compares that to the total calendar days of your scheduled enrollment for the term. This includes the first day of classes through the last scheduled day of exams, including weekends and holidays, and excluding any scheduled breaks of at least five consecutive days.

If you have not completed more than 60 percent, the amount of your financial aid you are allowed to keep and the amount that must be repaid will be calculated.

Quarter

100% Date

Fall Quarter 2018

November 13, 2018

Winter Quarter 2019

February 21, 2019

Spring Quarter 2019

May 15, 2019

Summer Quarter 2019

Varies- See Financial Aid Office

Future Aid Eligibility

If your loans should go into repayment once you withdraw from school, it is important to make your payments on time to prevent default. If you default on a loan, you would lose your eligibility for any future financial aid.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Refund of Fees

Based upon the date you discontinue enrollment, you may receive a full or partial refund of your fees. This refund will not impact the Return calculation, but does affect the amount of money you may owe back to the University for withdrawing.

During your first term at UC Davis, you will be classified as a new student receiving financial aid.

After your first term, you will be considered a continuing student at UC Davis.

Beginning with the first day of class, the following fee refund policies are based upon your classification as a new financial aid recipient or continuing student and the number of days lapsed when the action to discontinue enrollment was filed for the quarter or semester.

Regular Academic Year Fee Refund Schedule for New Students receiving Financial Aid

Refund Amount

Days in Quarter

Days in Semester

100%

0-1

0-7

90%

2-7

8-14

80%

8-14

15-28

70%

15-21

29-35

60%

22-28

36-49

50%

29-35

50-56

40%

36-42

57-63

0%

43+

64+

Regular Academic Year Fee Refund Schedule for Continuing Students

Refund

Days in Quarter

Days in Semester

100%

0-1 (less $10)

0-1

90%

2-7

2-11

50%

8-18

12-27

25%

19-35

28-53

0%

36+

54+

Calculating Return of Title IV Aid Amount

Return of Title IV Funds (Earned versus Unearned Aid)

Within 45 days from when you discontinue enrollment, the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office must calculate the amount of financial aid you have earned prior to the date the action was filed. Any aid received in excess of the earned amount is considered unearned. The unearned financial aid must be returned to the respective federal programs no later than 45 days from when the student seperated from UC Davis. The calculation is based upon only the amount of Title IV Aid for which you were eligible. State and UC Davis policy uses a similar formula to calculate how much state and university aid is earned if the student discontinued enrollment before the end of the quarter.

Calculating Earned Financial Aid

The amount of earned financial aid is calculated on a daily basis from the first day of classes. The process uses calendar rather than business days. Earned aid is determined by taking the number of days attended before enrollment ended divided by the total number of days in the term (first day of instruction until the last day of finals, excluding spring break for semester students).

Return policies apply to students that withdraw on or before the 60% point of the term. For a student who withdraws after the 60% point-in-time, there is no unearned financial aid.

See examples for calculating the percent of earned aid below.

Once the earned and unearned aid percentages are determined, the next step is to calculate the dollar amount of unearned aid that must be returned. The Return amount is determined by multiplying the unearned aid percentage by the total of all Title IV aid received.

UnearnedAid Percentage

X Total of all Title IV Funds Received

= Total Unearned Aid

School Portion of the Return

The amount of unearned aid that must be returned by UC Davis is a percentage of the institutional charges for the term. Once the dollar amount of the school portion of the Return is determined, it is compared to the total amount of all unearned aid. If the school portion is less than the total unearned aid, then UC Davis must return the amount of the school portion. If the calculated school portion exceeds the total unearned aid, then UC Davis must return the amount of the total unearned aid.

Financial aid will be returned to the aid program from which it came. If returned to a loan program, your outstanding balance will be reduced by the amount of the return. Aid will be returned in the following order:

Unsubsidized Direct Loan

Subsidized Direct Loan

Federal Perkins Loan

Direct PLUS Loans

Federal Pell Grants

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant

Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant

Late or Post-Withdrawal Disbursement

Students may be eligible for a late or post-withdrawal disbursement if they have accepted aid that did not disburse at the time of withdrawal from UC Davis.

If eligible, the UC Davis Financial Aid and Scholarships Office will send notification of the action required to either accept or decline a portion, or all, of the late disbursement. If no response is received within approximately two weeks of notification, the award will be canceled.

Fee Refund Versus School Return Amount

In most cases, the amount of the fee refund received will be less than the amount of the school Return portion of Title IV funds. When you discontinue enrollment, a balance will be created on your student account at UC Davis for the difference between the fee refund and the Return amount. You will be responsible for paying this balance in addition to any other balance created from the student portion of the Return.

Student Portion of Return of Title IV Funds

After the school returns the correct amount of aid, any amount of the total unearned aid that remains becomes the student portion of the Return. The student portion of the Return is calculated by subtracting the amount of the school Return from the total unearned aid.

Total Unearned Aid

(Subtract) School Return Amount

(Equals) Student Portion of Return

Depending on the remaining sources of aid after the school Return, the student portion of the Return is distributed back to the aid program from which it was awarded as follows:

Any amount of the Return allocated to loans is repayable after you leave UC Davis and enter repayment according to the terms and conditions of those loans. You will not be billed for these funds upon discontinued enrollment.

Any amount allocated to federal Title IV grants are subsequently decreased by 50%. This adjustment is an effort to reduce the impact of discontinued enrollment on those students receiving grant funds. UC Davis will return these funds on your behalf and you will be responsible for reimbursing UC Davis for this return.

Federal Formula used for State Cal Grants and Institutional Aid

Whether or not you are receiving any of the types of federal aid listed, students that received any non-federal aid (listed below) are required to go through a similar calculation to determine the portion of these funds that are unearned. Aid is returned in the following order:

Cal Grants

Institutional Loans

University Grant

Sample of Return to Title IV Calculation

2017-2018 undergraduate student who withdrawals during Week 3 of the Fall quarter:

Number of Days Attended: 20

Number of Days in the Quarter: 80

Earned Financial Aid: 25%

Unearned Financial Aid: 75%

Types of Aid

Financial Aid Disbursed Fall Quarter

Total Aid Earned
(Student eligible to keep)

Total Aid Unearned
(Must be recouped)

UC Davis Campus Fee Grant

$190

$0

$190

University Grant

$910

$0

$910

Cal Grant

$4,210

$228

$3,982

Direct Loan

$1,815

$0

$1,815

Pell Grant

$1,973

$947

$1,026

Total Aid

$9,098

﻿Unofficial Withdrawal

The UC Davis Financial Aid and Scholarships Office reviews posted grades every term. If a student receives all non-passing grades, and there is no record of academic activity they are determined to have unofficially withdrawn. Students are notified via UC Davis email if they are considered an unofficial withdrawal. Per Federal Return to Title IV regulations, federal financial aid is canceled and state and institutional funds is adjusted using the 50% point of the term as the withdrawal date.

In order to reevaluate this determination, documentation must be provided to support attendance in all courses for the term. For example, correspondence from the student's instructor(s).

﻿Summer Sessions: Withdrawing or Dropping Coursework

Dropping Summer Classes or Sessions

Dropping a course from one of your Summer Sessions may cause your summer financial aid awards to be revised. How your aid is adjusted depends on when you drop the courses. If you drop to less than 6 units you may lose your aid eligibility.

1. Dropping units before the first day of instruction

If you drop all of your classes before the first day of instruction, but remain enrolled in future session(s), your aid may be adjusted to reflect your change in enrollment. University Grant is subject to change based on total enrolled units for the Summer term.

We recommend that students who will no longer be enrolled in at least 12 units for the summer term submit a Summer Change in Aid form specifying your updated enrollment in the Unit Adjustment section.

2. Dropping units after the first day of instruction

If you drop all of your classes after the first day of instruction, but remain enrolled in other Summer Sessions that have not yet begun, the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office requires written confirmation of your future Summer enrollment.

We may contact you by email asking if you plan to attend a future summer session. You will have 10 calendar days to respond to our inquiry. If you do not respond or you do not attend a future summer session, we will adjust your financial aid based on updated enrollment.

When you discontinue enrollment, a balance may be created on your UC Davis student account for the difference between the fee refund and the calculated return amount. You will be responsible for paying this balance in addition to any other balance created from the student portion of the calculated return amount.

3. Dropping all Summer classes for all sessions

If you drop all Summer courses for all sessions before the first day of instruction, all Summer aid will be canceled.

What happens if I stop attending, or never started attending, classes but did not cancel my enrollment?

Failing to show up for class is not considered an official cancellation. You may be billed for all or a portion of your financial aid. Please visit the Summer Session website for the Cancellation/Withdrawal process.